Artist John Van Hamersveld created the artwork for the film poster for “The Endless Summer.”

Image: Bruce Brown, the father of surf filmmaking, shown here in the mid ’60s, is dead.

Bruce Brown made ‘The Endless Summer’ and that’s plenty enough for spreading the stoke we all have come to depend on.

He wasn’t ‘well healed’, so on a tight budget of $50,000, an armful of surfboards, Bruce Brown helped introduce America to surfing through storytelling: two friends traveling around the world, in search of the perfect wave. They found that and much more.

The concept was considered a longshot by distributors, but there was something about “The Endless Summer” that resonated with audiences from the east to west coast…and even inbetween. Endless Summer marked a cultural turning point for our sport/ lifestyle. Many mainstreamers (and parents) viewed surfing as a life-limiting, mind-numbing distraction for lost teens. How wrong they were.

In the final analysis, the film came to be regarded one of the finest surf movies ever. The Fantasy was sold and bought by beckoning people to the beach and romanticizing the idea that maybe Surfing was OK, good for your body, heart mind and soul; there was nothing really wrong with swapping the conventions of the working class for a freer life searching for the perfect experience.

Bruce’s company website, ‘Bruce Brown Films’, announced he had died Sunday at his ranch north of Santa Barbara at 80.

Bruce was a lifelong surfer and motorcycle rider who dared to tell his vision and became a legend in following it.

“Today our friend, partner, mentor, filmmaker, and father peacefully passed away in Santa Barbara, California. With Bruce Bruce and his inspiring movies an era comes to an end! His legacy lives on with all of us that continue to carry his torch! Thank you, Bruce. Rest In Peace!